Winters Lost
by WinterFrost15
Summary: Sixteen hundred years have passed since Marianna, an elf in line to be Santa's number one, disappeared. With the trail gone cold and only two suspects who couldn't have taken her, the odds are not favorable. That is, until a clue turns up on the new Santa's doorstep. Now he and a determined Bernard must follow this new lead, before Marianna vanishes yet again into the unknown.


**~Prologue~ **

**Lost**

_The day Marianna Holly Everest disappeared from the face of the North Pole, it had been snowing. _

_Before the day had been like any other. A day filled with toys and cheer and the usual holiday stress that springs forth at Christmastime. To make matters worse, however, Santa and the Workshop had been left without a proper Head Elf for months. _

_The former Head, a well-known elf and sometime troublemaker known as Jacob "Liverhead" Lazarus, had been forced to resign after a series of incidents involving damaged conveyor belts, stuffing fires, and a general ruin of production lines, work ethic, and elf morale. They were problems which quickly became known as the Liverhead Incident, and as such Lazarus was reported, fined heavily for the damage, and effectively kicked out of office._

_Lazarus' s second in command, Mario, had been considered for the Head position shortly after his boss' s unfortunate situation. At the time - in about early August - Mario had not been qualified and did not have as much experience that was necessary to become Head Elf. It had only been his first week, after all. So Mario had been left as Number Two, while the search for a new first in command continued. _

_This process was always, of course, slow. Eventually, after careful examination and difficult Head Elf exams, Santa, Mrs. Claus and the Elf Assembly decided on young Marianna Everest. The choice had not yet been made official (the upcoming Christmas would see to revealing that) but many who were still waiting already believed Marianna would get the job and were wishing her success. _

_"You'll do fine, Mari!" her best friend Danielle assured her in late November after it had been announced that the chance to take the exams was over, and the mattter would be deliberated thoroughly. "I know Santa will pick you and that you'll be great!" _

_Marianna laughed. "As if," she said. "Sure, I took the exams and whatnot, but I'll bet another, prettier elf will be chosen who's better suited for the job." _

"No one _is better suited for the job than _you," _Danielle insisted. She put her hand over Mari's, gazing at her with eyes that spoke resolve and confidence. "Just you wait. Once the results are finalized the week of Christmas, we can all breathe easier. Especially knowing Liverhead has finally gotten canned." _

_This earned her a laugh from Mari, who felt comforted by her friend's words. She_ did_ have a chance, she realized. She _could _be Head Elf of the North Pole. _

_Her spirit so restored, Marianna went on her way, helping elves in the workshop, running errands for Santa and Mrs. Claus, and generally assisting others where she felt it was needed. All the time she wondered and dreamt alongside her fellow elves that the honorable title of Head Elf would be bestowed upon her. _

_Among anyone, it was Marianna's brother, Theodore, who was the most excited to see her as first in command. Every day the little 500 year old elf would run out to hug her when she came home from work, and ask, "Did you get Head Elf yet? Well did you, sis?" And Mari would shake her head, smile, and pat a hand to his disappointed, rosy red face consolingly. "Not yet, Theo," she would reply. "But Santa and the Elf Assembly are working on it." _

_"They're always working on it!" little Theo would protest. "Why can't they make up their minds?" _

_"Well, they want to make the right choice," Mari would explain. "We can't have another mess like Liverhead, now do we?" _

_Theo would always roar with laughter at this. "Yeah, right! Liverhead! Don't want another mess like that." _

_Now it was the week of Christmas. Every hour leading up to the fated Eve held hope, anticipation, and wonder for what was to come: the ceremony of the new Head Elf, held right before the Delivery of the Presents in front of everyone at the North Pole. And the one name that hung on every lip, was Marianna Everest. _

_Mari and Theo had retreated to their special place just before the Ceremony - a beautifully carved gazebo with swings overlooking a half-frozen lake. Beyond the lake the vast mountain range that surrounded the North Pole was clearly visible in all its snow-peaked splendor. Here they sat, Theo glowing happily and endlessly praising his sister, Mari feeling suddenly fearful and foolish. What if she didn't become Head Elf? What if all her hopes these past months had been a complete waste? _

_"You can do it, sis," Theo told her, grinning around his mop of dark curly hair. "Lotsa elves want you as Head Elf. And you'll be it, so don't worry." He reached his small hand out and slipped it in hers. "Stay brave for me, okay? I believe on you. We all do." _

_"I promise," Mari said as they rocked gently side by side, staring out at the cool, calm beauty of the lake. "But I think I'll stay here for a moment and just relax. You go on ahead and tell everyone I'll be there shortly, okay?" _

_"Okay!" Theo said cheerfully, and with a small puff of sparks teleported away to the town center, where the Ceremony was about to begin. _

* * *

_His sister never showed up. Upon arriving in the town square, the little elf had sat down with the rest of his fellow North Pole inhabitants and waited for Santa to announce the new Head Elf. _

_Theo found a spot next to Danielle, who was a friend of him and his sister. The two chatted happily with one another, until Santa and Mrs. Claus ascended the stage set up for the occasion and began to speak. _

_"Elves, faeries, polar bears!" Santa cried. "Lend me your ears! Today we are gathered to honor one among you as Head Elf. Though I and many in the Elf Assembly regret seeing Jacob Lazarus leave his position in such a fashion, it is necessary to choose another who is up to the task. After much deliberation, we have reached a satisfactory decision. The title of Head Elf, conceived by the first Claus of this great Pole, shall be - until any problems arise that would hinder their ability to command - the good-hearted, the hardworking, Miss Marianna Everest!" _

_Cheers and applause exploded in the crowd. Of any of them Theo was shouting and clapping the loudest, relieved and overjoyed and still slightly shocked by this dream come true for his sister all at once. He and the others were so caught up in their ecstasy that none of them noticed that Marianna wasn't actually there, like she should have been. _

_Slowly the elves quieted down, a bit confused. Santa and Mrs. Claus seemed equally troubled by the young elf's absence from this grand and important event. _

_"Um, Miss Everest, may you please step onto the stage?" Santa called out. _

_Silence. The others looked around with concern, seeing no sign of the newly appointed Head Elf. Theo himself wasn't worried. He knew his sister was probably still out by the gazebo, admiring the glow of the ice as the Polar Ice Capp dimmed towards nighttime. Standing up on his chair, the little elf called out, "Don't worry, everyone. I know where Mari is. I'll go get her."_

_Collectively sighing with relief, the group allowed Theo to go find Mari. Danielle accompanied him, and in a flash the two were at the gazebo. It sat as serenely as before, with its matching blue swings swaying in the cool December breeze. The left swing where his sister usually sat was empty, however. _

_"Mari!" Theo called out. "The Ceremony started! You'll never guess who Santa named Head Elf!" _

_No answer. Theo wasn't deterred. Mari must've just gone down the shore a little ways or retreated into the small woods surrounding the lake. He cupped his hands over his mouth and yelled, "MARI! COME ON, SIS, YOU GOT HEAD ELF!" _

_But the trees echoed back his words hauntingly, and a chill breeze whipped at his face. Shivering, Theo stepped back from the gazebo, Danielle pulling him in close. Then a black shadow detached itself from a nearby patch of woods, hissing and howling, and lunged right for them. The two of them screamed and ran for it, too frightened to teleport. The shadow followed them relentlessly. _

_"Gone, gone you fools!" it hissed. "The girl is gone! The girl is ours! Ours, ours, OURS! Begone, begone, or we shall take you too!" _

_Theo and Danielle stumbled onward as the horrible apparition faded back into the trees. They never looked back once. _

* * *

_They broke the news to Santa and the rest of the elves that Marianna had been kidnapped. At once the jolly man called up the Council of Legendary Figures, alerting them of the crisis, and within an hour he had them and teams of elves scouring the North Pole for any signs of hers. _

_They turned up. . .with nothing. _

_The soon to be Head Elf had disappeared without a trace. It was unexplainable, unexpected, and most of all, shocking. Mother Nature thought perhaps that the Spirit of Nightmares, Doyle, was to blame, seeing as it had been one of his Fearling minions which had appeared before Theo and Danielle. Doyle claimed that no such kidnapping had occurred, and that his Fearlings often fell into other, more destructive hands. To which he had pointed the blame on the son of Snowana and Ioan Frost, the ever spiteful Jack Frost. _

_Weeks went by without a clear answer. Weeks swiftly turned into months, months into years. And still Theodore Everest waited for his sister to return. Still he waited for her to come back and tell him everything was alright. Still, still, still. _

_Even nearly sixteen hundred years later, that small hope within his heart had never, ever dimmed. _

_For every year since her disappearance, he walked to their special place at the gazebo and sat on the right swing, gazing out over the lake and praying Marianna would appear. She never did, of course. But he left her swing there as a reminder that maybe, just maybe. . ._

_He sat there now. He was older now, more mature and hardened with bitter experience. He swung back and forth gently, thinking back to that long-ago night when his sister had faded out of his life. No one had ever found her kidnapper, if there had been one at all. He remembered crawling into his bed and sobbing. It had been Christmas Eve. _

_Theo felt himself crying now. Overhead the clouds gathered and let down a gentle snowfall. Just like on Christmas Eve so long ago - laying there, all alone, the snowflakes had been a painful reminder of Mari, a gut-wrenching finality that whoever had taken his sister, whether it was Doyle the Fear-Weaver or Jack the Ice Prince, that they had won, and that Marianna Holly Everest was gone. _

_Things had changed for Theodore by this time. He was now Head Elf - in honor of his sister, of course - and for the most part he enjoyed it. He had changed his name as well. It was custom for an elf who became first of command to change their name, though it was not necessary. Theo had desperately wanted this change; he couldn't bear his old name anymore. It reminded him of the past. It reminded him of the pain. _

_So Theodore Everest had changed himself, to avoid the pain and the past, and to embrace his new life as Head Elf of the North Pole. He no longer went by Theodore. _

_Now, everyone knew him as simply. . .Bernard. _

_And so Bernard the Head Elf sat, crying softly, as the lonely winter night descended, and the tiny flakes of snow danced and fell upon him like a blanket, as he thought of his lost sister Marianna Everest who he knew in his heart was still out there in the wandering hills of the unknown, waiting to be found again._

**Another TSC story! I know I should be working on my other story, Frost and Fire, but I had this real nagging urge to write this, and now here we are!**

**This story is set about a year after TSC 2, BTW. Definitely before the third movie, since Jack is still frozen. :3 This also doesn't follow the FAF or Crystal Springs (by SafyreSky) storyline. **

**Comments are welcome! I'd love to hear if this sounds like a good idea! **


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